This book is such a"gift" ! Kay Warren gives the message that I have been looking for for 60 years ! Why do we have so many struggles, and !, then we are supposed to be JOYFUL about them !!! How can that be ? And after 67 years in , "the pew", and lots of Bible studies, and seaching of my own....Kay tells us how it is, and how to do it,,,according to the Word !!! Oh, how I wish that I had know all of this 60 years ago. !!!! How much smoother my life could have been ! I have purchased 10 more copies to give to friends, so that they can get to know these answers too. I wish that it would come out in paper back so that I could afford to give away more ! Thank you Kay, for writing the book, and letting us know what I have wanted to know for so long.....Thanks....

Kay Warren has authored an excellent book. Many women (and men too) need a reminder that joy does not equal happiness, and that it is our choice to make. It's easy to be fearful today and to feel downhearted and discouraged. Choose Joy is an uplifting, encouraging and refreshing read.

I was unfamiliar with Kay Warren and her ministry, but I had previously participated in a small group that read through her husband Rick Warren's well-known book "Purpose Driven Life". I believe this book "Choose Joy: Because Happiness Isn't Enough" would also be best suited for a small group discussion environment. When I attempted to read it straight through in order to review it, I realized that this book would be much more effective if I had others to discuss the end of chapter questions with. Without that environment, some of the information seemed a little repetitive - but if it were broken up into separate readings over an extended period of time it would be more of a review, where one idea built upon another to complete the whole.

Kay is very up-front about her own struggles to be joyful even during life's difficult periods. She doesn't pretend that it isn't hard - that we can just mark 'yes, I want joy' and it will be ours and we will never face further difficulty in our lives. That would be mistaking happiness for joy ... Hardships will always come along, it's our choice how to receive them.

I would recommend this book for a women's small group - especially aiming to include Christians facing hard times, whether that be health issues, grief, financial struggles, a marriage in crisis, or any other life situation that can steal our happiness, but can be opportunities for growth and joy if we learn to see it.